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Facebook Expands Pay-to-Message-Celebs Program to the UK

UK Facebook users wishing to send a personal message to Olympic diver Tom Daley and Salman Rushdie can now do so thanks to an expansion of the social network's pay-to-message-celebs program.

The Facebook program, which launched in the U.S. in December, has now been expanded into the UK and 36 other countries, according to The Guardian. "It is being tested among a very small percentage of users," a rep told the publication, "There is no set timescale. It depends on what happens, what feedback we get as to whether it is rolled out nationally. We are testing a number of price points in the UK and other countries to establish the optimal fee that signals importance. This is still a test and these prices are not set in stone."

The charge to reach Daley (pictured) is about $16.35. Messaging Rushdie fetches $15.40. The rep said Facebook is using secret algorithm that measures the celebs' fame. However, "There's not a sliding scale based on fame. You can't infer someone's level of 'celebrity' from the numbers," another Facebook rep said.

Facebook launched the messaging program in the U.S. in January by charging users $100 to message prominent figures including Mark Zuckerberg. The program came after Facebook began charging users $1 to message users they don't know in December. Previously such messages wound up in that users' oft-ignored "other" inbox.

Beyond Zuckerberg, though, the program seems to be of limited scope. There's no way to message top celebs on the network like Rihanna and Eminem, for example.

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